The Apocalypse War
by Sophiecinders14
Summary: A war has errupted between America and Russia. Americans are sending young soldiers into the war zone everyday to serve for their country. Two of them are Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna. The two of them think the war started over a disagreement, but, soon they'll find out how wrong they are. Sorry, I'm really bad at summaries. Please R
1. Chapter 1

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If you're reading this now then we are dead and you're possibly our last hope. Our world has fallen victim to war, countries have turned against countries and thousands of innocent souls die every hour. Our sons, fathers, brothers blood is spilled. The only hope we had was to go into hiding right where you're standing. However, I know our enemy is closing in by the minute and that we don't have long left. The information I'm about to give you is vital to end the war. There is one person out there, goes by the name of Yuri. He's the one who commands all the units attacking us and a real nasty piece of work. A way of summing him up is saying he has no sense of mercy nor right and wrong. By taking him out, the war would be over, and we could all live in peace. If you are reading this, then I beg of you, find Yuri and kill him. He moves around from place to place, but, he seems revisits the ancient ruins a lot. I'm guessing that's where he sets up shop and keeps his supplies. When you find him, do me a favour; fire as many rounds on the bastard as you like.

Present day- 13th March 2073.

"Get to the building! Move!" Commander Price yelled. Bullets were flying all over the place, grenades exploded but ten meters away from the soldiers and enemy tanks were speeding towards them. Obeying their orders, the soldiers ran into the building Commander Price had ordered them to go to. Once inside, they closed the door, locked it and then barricaded it just to be safe. After the entrance was sealed, all the soldiers ran up the stairs and took their positions, ready to shoot at anything that came through the door. Something hit against it, but, the door didn't open. There was a long pause, then the rumbling sound of an engine and caterpillar tracks riding over cars and bodies.  
"Get back! Now!" Price yelled. Not hesitating for a second, the soldiers got up and quickly walked backwards, just as a tank burst through the door. The soldiers opened fire, all off them aiming for the enemy soldiers that had run through the gap the tank had created, while Price went for the tank.

"Hedgehog, shoot that tank!" Price yelled and shot the shooter on top of the tank. Sonic looked over at Price, then nodded. He removed the missile launcher from his back and then aimed it at the tank.

"Sonic! Look out!" A voice yelled. Sonic looked up to see a grenade heading towards him. He rolled out the way and jumped behind a desk just as the grenade exploded. The sound of pain filled yells echoed in the air. When Sonic got up, he could barely see a thing. Smoke surrounded him.

"Hedgehog! Take out the tank!" Price yelled through the smoke. Sonic looked around and soon found the missile launcher. He picked it up and aimed for the tank. Once he had locked onto the target, he pulled the trigger and within a few seconds, the tank exploded. The resulting blast caused the ceiling above the tank to collapse on top of it and many of the enemy soldiers that had been around it. Sonic got up and looked around. Some of the people he knew, some of the soldiers he'd fought with, the ones that had been his friends, were lying dead on the floor in puddles of blood.

"Sonic! The building's gonna collapse, let's get out of here!" A voice snapped. Sonic turned to see his good friend, Knuckles, standing near him. Sonic quickly ran forwards and towards the window. As both Sonic and Knuckles ran, the ceiling started to collapse behind them. They reached the window and jumped out just in time. On their way down, they fell through many planks of wood that had been used for makeshift roofs. Sonic landed on the floor with a loud thump, the sound of his ribs hitting the concrete echoed through the air. Knuckles landed a few seconds after, however, his landing was much more painful and uncomfortable. He had fallen through the roof, landed on a stone kitchen surface on his back and then fell off it and onto the floor, again, on his back. He groaned in pain, his hand resting on the most painful part of his back.

"You alright Knux?" Sonic asked his friend as he slowly got up.

"Yeah, I fall out of windows daily. You get used to it after a while." Knuckles groaned as he hauled himself to his feet. The two then picked up their guns and left the house they had fell through. Because of the building collapsing, they'd been separated from the others. They were vulnerable, they were an easy target. When they both realised this, they both sighed with irritation.

"Guess we've got to make our way to the safe house." Sonic sighed. The two of them cocked their guns and then slowly, quietly, made their way through the streets. Luckily, the streets they took had already been wrecked, so there was little chance of them running into any hostile forces. When they were but a few hundred meters from the safe house, they spotted a car parked outside an abandoned building. Sonic and Knuckles took cover behind some cars that were resting on their sides, most likely because of a previous explosion. Sonic and Knuckles then listened out for voices.

"Yuri, the package has been successfully retrieved and is now on the way to the target location. What would you like us to do next?" A voice asked.

"Yuri?" Sonic gasped, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.

"We head to New York, that's where the President and his daughter will be staying. Once we have him, we have the codes to all of America's missiles." The voice of Yuri stated. Sonic turned to look at Knuckles who had his hand raised, a signal to Sonic to wait, not to attack just yet.

"What makes you think the president will give us the codes? He's as stubborn as his father was. How are you going to make him give us the codes?" The first voice asked.

"Every man has his price, the President's daughter is his." The voice of Yuri chuckled. Knuckles nodded to Sonic who stood up and took a shot at Yuri. The bullet missed by a few millimetres and hit the wall of a nearby building. Yuri turned to look at Sonic, then pulled out a pistol and shot rapidly at the hedgehog. Not wanting to get a bullet lodged in him, Sonic quickly ducked back behind the car and then reloaded. While Sonic reloaded, Knuckles stood up and shot at Yuri. One of the bullets hit Yuri in the shoulder. Yuri yelled out in pain and fell to his knees. The man who had been talking to him quickly helped Yuri up and into the car, took several shots at Knuckles, who narrowly managed to dodge the bullets fired at him, then the man got in the car with Yuri and drove away. Knuckles groaned with irritation and threw his gun to the ground. Sonic stood up and just caught sight of the car turning a corner. He turned to Knuckles who had an angered look about him.

"We had him! We had the bastard!" Knuckles snapped.

"Don't worry Knux, we'll get him. It's just a matter of time." Sonic sighed.

"I just hope that it's soon. Come on, we'd better get to the safe house before the enemy starts doing their rounds." Knuckles said and then picked up his gun. The two walked towards the safe house and when they got there went inside. None of their fellow soldiers were in there, so they settled down for the night, keeping their weapons besides them for the whole time. Neither of them slept, the sound of explosions, screams and gun shots were one of the reasons they couldn't sleep, but, the main reason was because they were both missing their families. Sonic missed his mother and his father, he also missed his two siblings Manic and Sonia. He knew Manic was fighting in the war, but, he wasn't exactly sure where his parents or Sonia were. The last time he'd been informed of their location was three months ago when they were in a refugee camp. Knuckles on the other hand, knew exactly where his family was. He knew they were safe, but, he was stilled concerned for them. Even his step-father Wynmacher, who was the father of Knuckles' step-brother Mace. The person he missed most though, was his mother, Lara-Le. She had asked him not to go, to stay with her and Wynmacher, to be safe, but, he'd refused. He'd wanted to protect his country.

"Knuckles? Can I ask you a favour?" Sonic asked after several hours of silence.

"Of course." Knuckles stated and sat up from his single camp bed to look at Sonic, who was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling and made no sign nor effort to sit up.

"If I die and you make it, will you tell my family I love them?" Sonic asked.

"Don't pull this shit on me, man." Knuckles sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"I'm serious! Look around Knuckles! This war isn't going to end for years! Our enemy gets stronger everyday! Our forces our getting smaller, our friends are dying! It's only a matter of time before one or both of us are gonna get killed." Sonic sighed, sitting up and staring straight at Knuckles.

"Let's get one thing straight, you're the blue blur, the fastest thing alive! There's no way you're not going home to your family. So stop all this negative shit, alright?" Knuckles smiled.

"Just promise me Knux, please." Sonic begged, his eyes slightly filling with tears.

"Alright, I promise. Will you do the same for me?" Knuckles asked, becoming more serious. Sonic nodded and then laid back down on his bed, trying to ignore the screaming coming from outside.


	2. Chapter 2

Sonic woke up to hear the sound of voices coming from the other side of the door. He immediately got up, grabbed his gun and aimed it for the door. He nudged Knuckles, who moaned sleepily and failed to get up. Sonic sighed and kept his aim on the door. The handle moved ever so slowly, an obvious sign that whoever was coming in new there was someone inside. Sonic raised his gun slightly higher, knowing that would roughly be where the head was. The door slowly opened to reveal two people Sonic knew too well; Shadow and Silver. He sighed with relief and lowered his gun. The two smiled when they saw him and quickly shut the door after entering.

"We thought we'd lost you guys! That jumpy thing out the window, not a smart move." Shadow chuckled and hit Sonic round the back in a playful matter. Sonic smiled and pushed him gently.

"Knuckles, wake up, the ice cream men are here." Silver smirked.

"Ice cream? Where?" Knuckles mumbled as he slowly rose from the bed, causing the other three to chuckle. Knuckles rubbed his eyes and then sat up properly.

"Guess we'd better get you guys back to base. Price is going nuts." Shadow smiled. Sonic and Knuckles grabbed their guns and then followed Shadow and Silver back to base. When they got there, the familiar scent of burnt skin filled their noses. The familiar sight of their friends being wheeled to the medic unit were being played out in front of them.

"Hedgehog! Echidna! Where in the name of Chaos were you?!" The familiar voice of Price snapped. Commander Price was probably the most uptight person any of them knew. He was the common husky with those bright blue eyes. He wore the required uniform for the war and he had several pins on his right chest pocket, most of them rewards for the deeds he did.

"When the building was collapsing we had to jump out the window otherwise we'd have been killed, sir. We went to the safe house and stayed the night. In the morning Shadow and Silver found us, sir." Sonic explained. He stood with his back straight and his hands behind his back.

"Well make sure it don't happen again or next time I won't send out search parties." Price snapped and walked away from the four of them. As soon as he was gone, they relaxed.

"Do you know where Tails is, Shadow? I need to speak to him." Sonic asked.

"Where do you think he is? He's in the repair tent." Shadow smiled. Sonic thanked him and then sped off towards the repair tent. When he got there, he saw Tails underneath a car that looked worse than scrap metal.. When Tails heard someone walk in, he got out from underneath the car.

"Sonic! You had everyone worried sick! We all thought you were dead!" Tails gasped.

"You really think anything could kill me? I'm the blue blur for crying out loud!" Sonic smiled.

"What's made you change your tune? Normally you're convinced you're gonna die." Tails stated with a confused tone in his voice. He then went back underneath the car to continue repairing it. Sonic paused for a moment, remembering his conversation with Knuckles and the promise he'd made Knuckles make. He knew he was going to die, but, he just didn't know when.

"Just trying to keep my morals up. Don't want to end up as tense as Price." Sonic shrugged.

"I see your point." Tails said from underneath the car. After spending a few minutes with Tails, Sonic left the repair tent and headed to the medic unit to see if Manic was there. He knew Manic was in Geoffrey St. John's unit, but, sometimes they'd get injured and sent to this medic unit. When Sonic walked in, he scanned the whole tent to see if he could spot his brother, but, none of the faces matched. Sonic sighed in relief, but, he was still worried about his brother's safety.

"Sonic! Oh my chaos! I'm so glad you're safe!" A voice gasped. Sonic turned to see Sally. She rushed over to him and embraced him with a tight hug that was closed to cracking his ribs. Her father didn't want her fighting in the war, much to her disappointment, so she'd managed to convince him to let her be a medic in the war instead, which he still wasn't happy about.

"Have you heard from Manic?" Sonic asked her. She shook her head, knowing this both comforted and made Sonic nervous at the same time. He kissed her on the forehead and then left the tent, hoping to find some mail when he got to his tent, but, as per usual, there was nothing. He sighed and sat down on his bed. He didn't want to fight, he wanted to be at home with his family, he wanted to be protecting them instead of watching innocent people die on a daily basis.

"Sonic, you in there? We got to move. Price is sending us on a mission." The voice of Silver stated.

Meanwhile, on the enemy's side, their soldiers were slowly making their way through the four storey car park. They planned on planting bombs there and luring the enemy into certain death. One of the soldiers, who was named Scourge, finished putting the last of the bombs in place.

"Hey! Drago! Let Dimitri know the bombs are ready!" Scourge yelled to Drago, who nodded and sprinted off as fast as he could, leaving everyone else heading towards the exit, ready to lure the enemy. Once outside, Scourge could see the tanks heading towards the car park. Guns started firing at them. Knowing what to do, all their forces headed inside the car park and started running to the third floor. The tanks were chasing after them at a pretty quick speed for something that heavy.

"We're not going to be able to get there before they shoot us!" The voice of Lightening Lynx snapped. Scourge ignored him and kept on running forwards, he couldn't let the boss down. Soon, they had gotten to the third floor, the tanks were but a few meters behind them.

"Julie-Su! Get blow it up!" Scourge ordered. The pink Echidna, known as Julie-Su, pulled out the detonator and clicked the button. Suddenly, the floor beneath the tank collapsed and it fell through the floor and all the way down to the first floor. Suddenly, the floor beneath Julie-Su collapsed. She fell through the gap the tank had made and landed on top of it. She groaned as her back hit the metal. When she looked up, she saw a car falling towards her. She knew she wouldn't get away in time so she closed her eyes and waited for the pain. Suddenly, something grabbed her and yanked her off the tank, just as the car hit it, crushing the tank completely. She turned to see, much to her disgust, one of the enemies had saved her. He was a red Echidna with purple eyes.

"Get off me!" Julie-Su snapped and pushed him off her, then pulled out her gun.

"Nice way to thank the guy who just saved your life!" He snapped back.  
"I didn't want your help! Just stay away from me!" Julie-Su ordered and started backing away. Suddenly, something grabbed her by the neck and put her in arm lock. She writhed and wriggled in an attempt to get free, but, there was no way she was getting out of the lock the person had her in.

"Knuckles! Why would you save the enemy?!" A voice demanded.

"What, I should have let her die?!" The red Echidna, who Julie-Su guessed was called Knuckles, snapped. There was a short pause, but, the grip around her neck or arm didn't loosen.

"She's the enemy, we don't help them, we only help our own." The voice stated. Julie-Su felt something cold and metal go against her head. A gun. She was going to be shot by the enemy.

"You disgust me, Price. She's done nothing do deserve that." Knuckles spat.

"She aided the enemy, that's enough crime for me." The voice, who Julie-Su guessed was named Price, snarled. Julie-Su tried writhing again, but, she couldn't break free.

"Killing her will just prove to the enemy we're just as bad as they are." Knuckles stated.

"But they'll be one less of them to deal with." Price scoffed.

"Julie-Su!" A voice called. She looked up to see Scourge looking down at her.

"Get out of here!" Julie-Su yelled, but, didn't say anything else when Price pushed the gun against her head with an even harder force than before. Scourge paused, then hesitantly ran away.

"You're too soft Knuckles, this is a war. We have two choices, kill or be killed. I choose the first one. This will be a lesson to you lad." Price explained and cocked the gun. Julie-Su closed her eyes and waited for the pain, but, it didn't come. Instead, she heard a grunt of pain, she felt the grip around her neck and arm loosen. She opened her eyes to see Price lying on the floor, unconscious. She turned to see Knuckles standing quite close to her, a gun in his hand, the handle of it covered in a small amount of blood. She turned to see Price had a large cut on his head.

"Why would you...?" Julie-Su started but was stopped by the sound of gunshots.

"Go! Get out of here!" Knuckles snapped at her. She didn't move though, she was too shocked.

"But...I don't...why..?" Julie-Su continued, then jumped when he gently pushed her away.

"Go! Run!" Knuckles ordered. She paused for a second, then started to move backwards.

"What about you?" She asked just before she was about to jump through a gap in the wall.

"I'll get a beating, but, that's it. Just go, get out of here." Knuckles smiled. Julie-Su quickly jumped through the gap and ran towards her force's vehicles. Scourge was still there waiting for her.

"How did you get away?" Scourge gasped when he saw her running towards him.

"Hit them on the head with my gun." Julie-Su lied with a smile, then boarded the vehicle.


	3. Chapter 3

Sonic, Silver and Shadow winced when they heard Knuckles grunt in pain. They had been standing outside the tent for about ten minutes, listening as well as they could, but, they could only make out a few words like "Idiot!", "Traitor!" and "Enemy!". When they heard the first punch, they realised Knuckles must have done something pretty bad for Price to be dealing out his punishments.

"What do you think he did?" Sonic whispered to the other two, who simply shrugged. Another grunt, louder than the last one, could be heard coming from the tent.

"Jeez, Price must be over the top mad at him." Shadow whispered, his voice full of sympathy.

"I don't get it, what could Knuckles have done to piss Price off so much he'd beat the life out of him?" Silver whispered, receiving shrugs off the other two. All they'd seen was Price dragging Knuckles out of a car and into the tent. They didn't know anything else.

"Now get out!" The voice of Price snapped. Not long later, Knuckles stormed out of the tent. His left eye was was now black with bruising and he had several bruises along his arms.

"Knux, what on Mobius did he do to you?!" Sonic gasped. Knuckles turned around to look at them.

"None of your concern." Knuckles stated and walked off. Sonic wasn't happy with the answer he got, so he sped after Knuckles, intent on finding out the truth to the bruises.

"Knuckles! What did you do to piss him off that much?" Sonic asked.

"Why are you so keen to know?! What goes on in my life is my business, not yours, not Shadows or Silvers, mine! So just butt out!" Knuckles snapped and stormed off to his tent.

"Hey, Sonic, check out Price's head!" Shadow said quietly, nudging his head towards Price. Sonic looked at Price and saw a large wound on Price's head, one that could have only come from being hit by a gun. Sonic then turned to look at the tent Knuckles had walked into. "  
"What on Mobius did he do?" Sonic gasped. Meanwhile, Knuckles sat down on his bed, wincing slightly as his sat down. His stomach was throbbing with pain, but, he didn't let it show. His mind then turned to the girl he'd saved. She was the first female soldier he'd seen in the war, all the other females he'd seen were either civilians or medics. He couldn't help but notice how pretty she was.

"Psst!" Something whispered. Knuckles looked around, but, he couldn't see anything. He presumed it had come from a gas tank or something like that, so he went back to his thinking.

"Hey! Red! Over here!" The thing whispered again. He got up and turned around to see a gap in the back of his tent. He walked towards it and looked out of the gap to see the girl he'd saved.

"What are you doing here?!" He hissed, knowing if she was caught she'd be shot on sight.

"I never thanked you for saving my life, twice." She whispered.

"No problem, now get out of here. If they see you they're going to shoot you!" Knuckles warned.

"Trust me, I've been shot one too many times to care. Anyway, this is for saving my life." She stated, leaned forwards, kissed him on the cheek and then ran off before he had the chance to think.

"Knuckles, you in there? We need to talk." The voice of Sonic called from outside the tent.

"Uh, y..yeah, come in." Knuckles stuttered, not sure to make of what had just happened. Sonic walked in the tent to see the Echidna standing by the gap in the back of his tent.

"Knuckles? What's going on?" Sonic asked. Knuckles looked over at Sonic.

"You can't tell anyone, even Shadow or Silver and you've got to promise to let me finish before you freak out." Knuckles stated, walking to his bed and then sitting on it.

"Yeah, of course." Sonic promised and sat on the bed so he was sitting opposite Knuckles.

"You know you were in the second tank, behind the one that fell through the floor? Well, I was on the ground floor when it landed. When I was going to go over there to see if they were alright, a girl fell through the gap in the floor and landed on top of the tank. A car was going to land on top of her, so I pulled her off, saving her life. She was a enemy soldier..." Knuckles started.

"YOU SAVED AN ENEMY?!" Sonic gasped. Knuckles covered the hedgehog's mouth.

"I said let me finish before you freak out! As I was saying, she basically went nuts because I'd saved her, then Price got her and was going to shoot her, when, something came over me. I hit him on the head and told her to get out of there. She left, Price beat me and then she turns up here to thank me for saving her life. She kissed me on the cheek then ran off." Knuckles finished.

"WHY...WHAT WOULD...DO YOU EVEN...AHH!" Sonic yelled, getting up from the bed.

"Keep the volume down, I don't want another excuse for Price to beat me, I didn't exactly enjoy it the first time." Knuckles sighed. Sonic stopped yelling and turned to face Knuckles.

"You like her, don't you?" Sonic gasped. Knuckles chocked on thin air at the accusation.

Meanwhile, Julie-Su had snuck back into her side's camp. She had bumped into several people while walking to her tent, but, at least she hadn't bumped into them while climbing over the fence. When she got in her tent, she was greeted by Scourge, his arms folded an irritated look on his face.

"Where have you been?" He asked her. She sighed and pushed past him to sit on her bed.

"I needed some air, I needed to think. Do you know what it's like to have a gun held to your head?!" Julie-Su lied. She hadn't needed air, nor time to think. She wanted to see Knuckles again.

"I'm sorry, I should have known that's why you weren't here, but, that was the exact reason I was worried about you." Scourge sighed. Suddenly, the alarm that signalled for all soldiers to meet in the edge of the camp echoed through the air. Scourge picked his gun up from the floor and ran out of Julie-Su's tent, shortly followed by the Echidna herself. When they arrived, they lined up.

"Hey, Julie-Su, what's the betting Dimitri's gonna give us a lecture about loading our guns properly?" Drago chuckled. Julie-Su couldn't help but laugh lightly at his joke, which was probably the most likely reason as to why they had been called out. Someone had probably shot themselves in the foot because they'd not loaded their gun properly. Dimitri then appeared, wearing his Enterjak uniform. Behind him was Moritori-Rex and Kragok. Those two would suck up to Dimitri in hope to become one of the commanders. It seemed to be working slightly.

"Soldiers, the reason I called you at such a late hour is because we are going to attack the enemy tonight. Get your guns loaded and bring plenty of ammunition." Dimitri ordered. All the soldiers disbanded to collect their rounds. On the way, Julie-Su couldn't help but feel worried.

"Hey, isn't this exciting! They're not going to know what's coming!" Scourge chuckled.

"Yeah, exciting." Julie-Su smiled, trying not to show her lying expression. Within a few minutes, all the soldiers had collected their rounds and they were heading towards the enemy camp. While they were walking, Julie-Su was wondering how they'd found the camp. She'd made sure she hadn't been followed, so they couldn't of found it because of her. She then remembered Dimitri saying something about a spy being sent off somewhere. She could only guess they'd been sent to find the camp and had returned with good news. Soon, they reached the boarders of the enemy camp.

"Simian, go forwards and signal us when you've found a way in." Dimitri ordered. Sergeant Simian obeyed the orders he was given and quietly ran forwards. For a few minutes, everyone waited in silence, then a flash of light appeared from the distance, meaning Sergeant Simian had found an entrance. Most likely the one Julie-Su herself had crept through. She knew she had to find Knuckles, warn him of the attack. When everyone had gone through the gap in the fence, Julie-Su took off before anyone could see her and headed towards Knuckles' tent. She soon reached it and quickly went through the gap. He was sitting on his bed, stitching up a cut on his arm.

"Red!" She whispered. He jumped when he heard her voice, his eyes went wide when he saw her.

"What are you...?" He asked, but, she covered his mouth before he could continue.

"I don't have much time to explain. There's an attack coming, a spy found your camp. I swear I had nothing to do with it, but, now Dimitri knows and he's in your camp and he's going to kill all of you." She explained. His eyes searched hers, most likely to see if she was lying. Slowly, she removed her hand from his mouth, giving him the freedom to speak if he chose to.  
"Knuckles! Knuckles! There's an attack...!" A voice yelled. Julie-Su looked up to see a blue hedgehog had run into the tent, but, had frozen when he'd seen her standing there.

"I've got to go, just get everyone out of here before Dimitri can do any more damage." Julie-Su sighed and went to the gap in the tent, but, was stopped when Knuckles grabbed her arm.

"They'll know you helped me." Knuckles stated.

"That's a risk I have to take. You saved my life, it's my turn to save yours." Julie-Su smiled, removed his hand and ran out of the gap in the tent. When she got out, she was almost immediately greeted with gunshots, the sound of screams, the sight of flames. She narrowly dodged a explosion that had come from a tent just a few meters in front of her. She saw Scourge staring at her, he'd seen her walk out of the tent. He ran from her, towards Dimitri, she ran after him, yelling his name.


	4. Chapter 4

Scourge ran as fast as he could towards Dimitri. He had to let his leader know there was a traitor amongst them. He didn't want to believe it, but, he had no choice. It was the truth, and he had to live with it, whether he liked it or not. What he didn't understand was why would Julie-Su do it?

"Scourge!" He heard her yell. He didn't stop, nor slow down. He continued to run towards Dimitri until something grabbed him, causing him to fall forwards. He landed on his back, with Julie-Su above him, pinning him down. Her hair flopped messily around her face.

"Get off me you traitor!" Scourge snapped, trying to break free from her, but failed to do so.

"Just hear me out!" Julie-Su begged, still keeping him down with the same amount of force.

"I don't need to listen to your excuses, I know everything I need to know. You're a traitor to our cause, you chose the enemy over us! You are no friend of mine!" Scourge spat and kicked her off him. She landed against a barrel of explosives, the ring of her back hitting the metal echoed through the air. Without hesitating another second, Scourge took off and ran towards Dimitri, leaving his former friend lying on the ground, unable to move without being in a large amount of pain. She looked up to see Scourge had reached Dimitri and was speaking to him in a quick pace. Dimitri then looked over to Julie-Su once Scourge had finished speaking, his eyes filled with evil and hate.

"Oh shit." Julie-Su muttered to herself and tried to get up just as Dimitri signalled for some of his troops to go to her. She managed to get on her feet just before they reached her. She quickly ran through the enemy camp, trying to get away from the soldiers who were after her.

"Get back here you traitor!" One of them yelled. She ducked under a beam and continued to run, even though her back was begging her to stop. Suddenly, she tripped over something and landed on her ribs. Pain surged through her, she gasped for air. The two soldiers who had been chasing her reached her, picked her up by her wrists and dragged her over to Dimitri, who stared at her coldly when she was thrown on the floor in front of him. She looked up at him with a strong gaze.

"So, you chose to betray your own." Dimitri scoffed, his voice as cold as his gaze.

"It's a better choice than serving you." Julie-Su spat. Dimitri smirked evilly.

"Take her back to the camp and get her ready for the punishment she deserves." Dimitri ordered. Two soldiers nodded and dragged Julie-Su all the way back to their camp. They had trouble holding the female as she was constantly writhing and lashing out, trying to get free, but, they eventually managed to get her into the camp and chain her up in Dimitri's tent. While she waited for her inevitable doom, Julie-Su couldn't help but think of Knuckles. She didn't know why, but, there was something about him that intrigued her. He had a certain mystery about him.

"Are you ready to be beaten senseless traitor." The irritating voice of Nack asked.

"Clear out of here Nack, I'm in no mood for your jokes." Julie-Su hissed.

"Why did you do it, Julie-Su, you were so close to being ranked Commander. Why did you have to go and give it up? Why did you have to go and betray our cause?" Nack asked.

"Because this isn't a cause worth fighting for! Dimitri wants power and he'll do everything to get it. He'll kill children if he has to. I'm not willing to be a part of that." Julie-Su spat.

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that after he's done with you, Dimitri will be joining forces with a very powerful man. I believe he's know as Yuri." Nack smirked and left the room.

"What?! No!" Julie-Su yelled, trying to get out of the chains she was held in. If Dimitri joined forces with Yuri, all hell was going to break loose and there'd be no hope left for anyone. After several long hours, Julie-Su heard the sound of heavy footsteps returning to the camp. They'd lost the battle, the enemy had won. She couldn't help but smile, but, that smile faded when Dimitri walked in. He had no wounds, but, his armour was covered in dirt and some of it was missing.

"One last question before I make you regret the day you were born. Why would you betray me?" Dimitri asked. Julie-Su looked up at him with a cold glare, one filled with hate and evil.

"Because I'd rather die than follow you and your quest for power. I am not going to be involved in this cruel attempt to dominate the world by killing anyone who stops you, including innocent people and children who were defenceless." Julie-Su snarled. Dimitri grabbed a whip from the wall.

"Have it your way then." He smiled evilly and then struck the whip at Julie-Su. The crack could be heard from miles away, but, not once did you hear her scream, not even after the thriteenth strike.

Silver and Shadow walked through the silent smoke, searching for any survivors. They'd found countless bodies, some of whom they were very close to, but, all of them were dead. They'd found no one that was alive. Suddenly, they saw something moving across the ground. Raising their guns, they slowly made their way towards the thing, which they soon discovered was Sally, one of their medics. She had a large burn on her hip an several cuts on her arms. Shadow gently picked her up and carried her back to the vehicle while Silver continued to search for anyone who was alive. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles were also searching for survivors.

"What were you thinking Knuckles?!" Sonic snapped, referring to the earlier event of there being an enemy soldier in Knuckles' tent, no doubt the one he had saved from being shot by Price.

"She warned me about the attack! If she hadn't, I'd be dead right now!" Knuckles stated.

"That doesn't mean you can trust her!" Sonic yelled.

"I've had enough of you." Knuckles groaned and stormed off, not caring where he was going. He walked for ten minutes straight without stopping, nor listening to Sonic calling out to him.

"Knuckles! Slow down! Hey! Look out!" Sonic yelled. Knuckles stopped dead in his tracks to see a wired fence. It was about seven foot high and covered with spikes. He'd only been walking for a few minutes and yet, he must have been at the enemies camp. He ducked down and looked into the camp itself to see several soldiers cleaning their weapons or walking around the camp.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot Knuckles!" Sonic whispered excitedly.

"If you think we're going down there by ourselves, you've got another thing coming. We'd be shot before we even got over the fence." Knuckles stated with a cold tone, still not happy with Sonic. He turned back to look at the camp. He then saw Dimitri walking out of a tent with a whip in his hand. A pure white one that shone even in the dark, it was stained with blood. Just then, the girl who had warned him about the attack got pushed out of the tent. She fell to the ground with a loud thump. The only thing she wore on the top half of her body was a bra, so the wounds on her back could be seen clearly. There must have been tens of slashes across her back, all of them deeper than the last.

"This is what happens when any of you betray me! Keep that in mind or you'll end up just like her!" Dimitri yelled, pointing towards the girl on the floor, who had surprisingly been able to get on her hands and knees. Dimitri then raised the whip and struck her with it. The crack rung through the air, the thump of her falling to the ground echoed in everyone's ears, but, the one sound that wasn't heard was a scream. Sonic looked down at her in sympathy, then remembered when she said she'd be willing to take the risk of her forces finding out she had betrayed them.

"Take her to the city and leave her there, I don't want her near me or this camp." Dimitri snarled. Two soldiers nodded, yanked her harshly to her feet by her wrists and dragged her to a vehicle.

"Come on Knuckles, we've got to get out of here, they'll be driving out that gate soon." Sonic stated and stood up, looking down at the red Echidna, who had a large amount of concern in his eyes.

"Sonic, I have to do something..." Knuckles started.

"We'll look for her when we go into the city tomorrow for our patrol. I promise." Sonic promised, grabbed Knuckles by the wrist and zoomed off just before the car drove out of the enemy gate. Soon, they arrived back at the last vehicle left, knowing Shadow and Silver must have drove off to the back up camp. Just as Knuckles was about to get in the car, he noticed something on the floor. He picked it up and saw it was a picture of Price with his daughter. Knuckles quickly put it in his pocket and jumped into the car, then drove in the direction of the second camp. When he arrived, he could see people being carried to the make shift medical wing, one of them was Sally.

"Sal?" Sonic gasped and zoomed off in her direction, which Knuckles understood. Those two had been together just before they'd joined the war, they were very close and madly in love with one another. Knuckles looked around and saw Silver hugging Blaze. Those two weren't a couple, but, anyone could tell they had feelings for each other. They were just obviously too scared to admit it to one another. Just then, Knuckles spotted Price walking towards him.

"Echidna! Where on Mobius were you and the Hedgehog?!" Price snapped.

"Searching for survivors, like you told us to." Knuckles spat.

"Well next time, don't take so damn long!" Price ordered. Knuckles pulled the photo out from his pocket and pushed it against Price's chest, then stormed off, leaving the Husky shocked for words.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Sonic woke up to hear the sound of approaching vehicles. He managed to haul himself out of his bed so he could see what was going on. Once outside of his tent, Sonic could see cars heading towards the camp, cars that belonged to Geoffrey St. John's unit. Sonic could feel his heart rate increase, Manic was in that unit. If Manic was alive, he'd be there. Soon, the cars had ground to a halt and many soldiers started getting out of them. Sonic scanned them all until he found the familiar face of his brother Manic. When they both saw each other, they basically leapt at one another. The overwhelming feeling of joy and reassurance filled them both entirely.

"Sonic! I am so glad you're alright bro! I heard there was an attack on your camp!" Manic stated.

"Yeah, Dimitri thought it would be fun to make things go bang, but, I'm fine. Anyway, what are you guys doing here? I thought Geoffrey's unit was supposed to be in the war zone?" Sonic asked.

"We're heading there in a few days. Price said we could come here and collect some supplies, rest, clean up and then we're on our way." Mani explained, giving small hand gestures as he spoke.

"That explains it then. Oh, speaking of Price, he's snappy lately so watch out." Sonic warned.

"Have you heard about Sonia? Apparently she's now a medic in Remington's unit." Manic added.

"WHAT?!" Sonic gasped. He couldn't believe that his sister was now in the war as well.

"Chill dude! She's as far away from the war zone as you can get. She's only dealing with those who need constant care and who can't get out of the camp." Manic stated. A small amount of relief came over Sonic, at least she wasn't right on the front line dealing with those who'd got hit by grenades.

"Well, I'll catch up with you later bro, Knux and I've got to go on our patrol." Sonic smiled, hugged his brother goodbye and then went to find the Echidna in question. He found Knuckles waiting at the boarder of the camp, his sniper around his back, his pistol in his pocket.

"You took your time, what kept you so long?" Knuckles asked.

"Geoffrey's unit is staying here for a few days. Manic was there so I talked to him for a little while." Sonic explained. The look of slight irritation on Knuckles' face completely disappeared. He knew how much Sonic worried about Manic, so to see his brother must have been a huge relief.

"Fair enough, come on then, lets go." Knuckles smiled and the two left the camp. Soon, they were within the city, or, what was left of it at least. Buildings were abandoned and had half of their structures missing, paths were covered in concrete and blocked with cars, windows were smashed, doors were hanging off their hinges and the bodies were scattered in corners and alleyways.

"So, Knuckles, about this girl. What are we going to do if we do find her and she's alive?" Sonic asked after turning a corner, his gun in front of him the whole time. Before Knuckles could answer, the sound of a distance explosion slightly echoed in their ears for a short while.

"I have no idea. We can't take her back to the camp, who knows what Price would do if we did and we can't just leave her out here either." Knuckles sighed. Suddenly, the sound of something metal falling, then hitting the ground, rung through the air. Both Sonic and Knuckles turned at the same time to look in the direction the sound had come from, their guns raised slightly. The building they were looking at had been one of their old safe houses before the enemy had discovered it.

"We going in or are we standing out here like chickens?" Sonic asked.

"Ladies first." Knuckles smiled, motioning with his gun for Sonic to go.

"Age before beauty." Sonic smirked. Knuckles sighed and slowly opened the door to the old safe house. When Knuckles went in, Sonic wasn't too far behind.

"You take the left, I'll take the right." Knuckles whispered. Sonic nodded and the two split up. Sonic searched both rooms on the left side of the building, but there was no one there.

"Clear." Sonic called. Instead of a reply, there was a thump, like something metal such as frying pan had hit something on the head, and then was shortly followed by a grunt. Another thump, like something falling onto the floor, was heard shortly afterwards. Sonic quickly went into the first room on the right to see Knuckles lying on the floor.

"I didn't mean to hit him! I thought he was Kragok!" A voice gasped. Sonic looked up and saw the girl who Dimitri had slashed with his whip. She still wore nothing on her top half other than a bra, but, she didn't seem to be embarrassed about it. Sonic then looked down at Knuckles.

"Give him ten minutes, then he'll be up." Sonic shrugged and put his gun away.

Meanwhile, President Arthur Mongoose watched as the guards escorted his daughter; Mina, to where the other passengers, most of them guards, were sitting. He sighed and then walked towards the conference room. He was to meet with the figures of power before they landed in Russia. He planned on going there to make peace between the two countries, but, others weren't as sure. When he walked into the conference room, he could see all of the other men sitting around the oval table.

"Mr. President, please, take a seat." The one closest to the only empty seat smiled. Arthur

"Gentlemen, if we do not make this agreement with Russia, then, we will be marching straight into world war three. Haven't our men suffered enough? Haven't they been away from their families too long? I say, the sooner we end this war, the better things will be, and we'll be able to bring those boys home...hopefully in one piece." President Mongoose stated. Before anyone could respond, the sound of gun shots could be heard from outside the conference room.

"We've been breeched! Protect the President!" The Guards yelled. More gun shots could be heard, then suddenly, the door burst open. Bullets went flying in all directions. The President's guards quickly took out the three men who had burst into the conference room.

"Quickly! Get the President to the safe room!" One of the guards ordered. Carefully, a guard lifted the President to his feet and led him out of the conference room. Two guards went in front of him, both holding their guns at head height. After shooting five more breachers, they got to the stairs.

"Down the stairs! Go go go!" The first guard ordered. Everyone went down the stairs.

"Where is my daughter?" President Mongoose asked.

"She's safe Mr. President, she's in the safe room." The second guard stated.

"Get down!" The third guard yelled. Everyone took cover behind the seats just before they were hit with an armada of bullets. Suddenly, an explosion rippled through the air. The end of the plane fell off and started to plummet towards the ground. The plane then started to fall in altitude.

"We're going down! Hold onto something!" The first guard ordered. Everyone grabbed onto one of the chairs. Just then, a second part of the plane broke off and fell to the ground. President Mongoose closed his eyes tightly as the front of the plane, the part he was in, got closer to the ground.

A few seconds before the impact, Sonic was sitting besides Knuckles, who had given his jacket to the girl so she wouldn't freeze in the cold temperatures. Sonic then turned to her.

"So, why did you lea..." Sonic started, when a crash, several explosions and the ground shaking stopping him. Knuckles got up and ran out of the building, his gun aimed at head height.

"SONIC!" Knuckles yelled. Sonic sped out of the building and to his friend's side, staring in shock at the scene that greeted him. Three parts of a plane laid spread out in the city, all of them on fire.

"Come on!" Knuckles ordered. The two of them ran towards the wreckage and attempted to find survivors. They soon found several lying on the ground, and they could immediately tell this was an attack on the President's flight. That meant the President was in danger.

"Come on, we've got to find him before he gets compromised." Sonic stated and walked forwards. Knuckles followed his friend, hoping they'd find the President...alive.

"Look out!" A voice snapped and suddenly pushed the them to the ground. Gun shots flew just above them. When Knuckles opened his eyes, he saw the girl above him and Sonic, shooting at whoever had aimed at them. Sonic got up and started shooting as well.

"The President's been compromised! I repeat; the President has been compromised!" A guard snapped into a walkie talkie. Suddenly, there were several guards joining Sonic and the girl in the shooting. Knuckles got up and quickly shot at an enemy who was trying to shoot Sonic.

"Sonic, cover me!" Knuckles snapped. Sonic nodded and shot the enemies as Knuckles quickly made his way forwards. He was shortly followed by Sonic and the girl. Soon they found the President, leaning against a large chunk of concrete. A helicopter hovered above them.

"That's our escape! Get the President!" One of the Guards ordered. When the helicopter landed, Knuckles opened the door, only to be met with his worst fears. Before he could pull out his gun, Yuri pulled the trigger on his pistol, hitting Knuckles in the shoulder, who fell to the ground.

"Knuckles!" Sonic gasped and ran to his friends side. Knuckles gasped for breath.

"Get off!" The girl snapped as Yuri grabbed her by her dreadlocks. He shot her in the stomach. Yuri then shot Sonic in the leg and threw the President in the helicopter, got in and then it flew off.


	6. Chapter 6

When the plane crashed into the city, Price had sent several of his soldiers to go investigate, knowing Knuckles and Sonic had been in that area at the time and was concerned for the two's safety. Two of those soldier's weren't in Price's unit though, Manic and Antoine had volunteered to go as well. Manic wanted to go to find his brother and Antoine wanted to go so he could protect Manic. The two had gotten close over their time serving together and they'd both promised they'd watch each other's backs for as long as they were in the war. Soon, they reached the beginning of the wreckage. It would have been quite distressing for those who hadn't seen anything like it before. However, Manic was so accustomed to death and pain, it didn't make him too emotional.

"Come on, let's go find them." Manic ordered. He and Antoine quickly made their way through the battlefield, noticing the dead bodies of the enemy soldiers, as well as a few guards that had been on the plane. Manic knew that Knuckles and Sonic had been there, no one else shot that many people and got through. When they turned the corner, they saw a helicopter taking off and three figures lying on the floor, bleeding. One of them was Sonic, who was clutching his leg.  
"SONIC!" Manic gasped and ran to his brother.

"Manic...what took you...so long?" Sonic chuckled weakly.

"SOMEONE GET A MEDIC!" Manic yelled, covering the wound in Sonic's leg with his hands. Antoine ran off to go find a medic while Manic stayed with Sonic. He then looked over and saw Knuckles with a gun shot wound in his shoulder, the Echidna's breaths were in short painful gasps.

"Shit! Knuckles!" Manic gasped. He then looked over to the third figure. She was a female Echidna, wearing Knuckles' jacket, she was clutching her stomach. Blood stained her hand and the jacket, her eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Manic knew she was one of the enemy soldiers. He pulled out his gun and aimed it for her. Just as he was about to shoot, Sonic stopped him.

"She...saved our lives...Manic." Sonic wheezed. Manic looked down at his brother, then the girl.

"Why would...I don't..." Manic stated, not knowing what to make of the situation.

"Manic! Look out!" Knuckles snapped. Manic spun around, just in time to block an attack of a severely burnt enemy soldier. He managed to push them away and get up, but just as he got to his feet, the enemy knocked him off and pushed him to the ground. The soldier was about to shoot Manic when something grabbed him and pulled him off Manic, who got up to see the female Echidna wrestling the enemy soldier. The soldier hit her in the face and sent her flying backwards.

"Traitor!" The soldier snapped and shot her in the leg. She gasped in pain.

"Hey!" Manic snapped and shot the enemy soldier before they could do any more harm to the girl.

"MANIC!" The voice of Antoine yelled from the distance. Manic turned to Sonic.

"Go, we'll...be fine. Take her with you...she's lost more blood...than us combined." Sonic wheezed. Manic nodded with hesitation, picked the girl up and quickly ran in the direction of Antoine's voice.

"You got to stay awake, alright?" Manic ordered to the female in his arms. She nodded and tried keeping her eyes open, but, it was obviously proving a struggle for her to do so.

"Manic! There you are! What happened!" Antoine gasped.  
"Enemy appeared and shot her. Get her to the medic, now!" Manic ordered and gently passed the girl over to Antoine who took her, but, looked confused as to why Manic told him to help her.

"She saved Sonic's life, Knuckle's life and my own. I can't let her die after that." Manic stated.

"Fine." Antoine sighed and ran off with the girl in his arms. Manic went back to Sonic and Knuckles to see Knuckles trying to stop someone from strangling him. Manic quickly rushed over, but, was sent flying back by something.

"Tell me now, Guardian, where is the traitor?! Where is Julie-Su?!" The figure trying to strangle Knuckles demanded. Knuckles winced in pain, then kicked them off him.

"Manic! Get Sonic and get out of here!" Knuckles ordered.

"What about you?" Manic asked.

"I'll be fine, go!" Knuckles snapped. Manic quickly picked up Sonic and sped off.

"No! They'll kill him! We've got to go back! Manic!" Sonic yelled. Manic ignored his brother and continued to carry him back to the medical unit the soldiers had made. However, Manic regretted when he heard the sound of a distant gunshot and silence for a while afterwards.

Meanwhile, Knuckles wheezed as he attempted to get to his feet, but his efforts were futile.

"Oh my chaos!" A voice gasped. Knuckles looked up to see the President's daughter; Mina Mongoose, running towards him. She knelt down besides him and covered the wound in his shoulder. Knuckles winced as she touched the wound, pain surged through his whole being.

"You need to get out of here." Knuckles stated through gritted teeth. He knew the enemy had only left because they thought he was dead after shooting him in the stomach, but, he knew they'd be back soon. Mina looked down at him, then the the way she'd came.

"I can't leave you here." She said quietly, her voice shaking with fear.

"You're gonna have to. Go, now, before they come back." Knuckles smiled. Mina paused for a moment, then slowly got up and ran off, obeying his orders. Knuckles looked over to the small puddle of blood where Sonic had been lying, then he looked to the large puddle of blood where Julie-Su had been. His vision started to become blurry, his breaths barely gasps now.

"Knuckles!" A muffled voice yelled. Knuckles turned his head to see Manic running towards him. After Manic reached Knuckles, everything went black.

Back in the Medical unit, Sonic fought against those who were trying to push him down.

"I GOT TO HELP KNUCKLES!" Sonic yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

"Sonic!" The voice of Shadow yelled. Sonic looked over to see Shadow and Silver running towards him. He tried getting up, but, the soldiers kept on holding him down.

"Sonic! What happened? Where's Knuckles?" Silver asked.

"HE'S DYING AND THEY WON'T LET ME HELP HIM!" Sonic snapped.

"Someone get the paddles! We're loosing her!" A soldier snapped. Sonic looked over to see Julie-Su lying with her eyes closed, her chest wasn't moving and the machine beside her let out one long continuous beep. A soldier applied two paddles on her chest. Her body jumped as the electricity travelled through her, but, her heart failed to start beating.

"Why are they helping her? She's the enemy!" Shadow gasped.

"SHE saved me life! SHE saved Knuckles' life and Manic's!" Sonic snapped.

"SOMEONE HELP!" The voice of Manic yelled. Sonic looked over and saw Manic dragging Knuckles towards them. Sonic quickly jumped up and ran over, even though his leg was screaming. When he reached Knuckles, he saw the Echidna's eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing.

"NO! Come on Knux!" Sonic snapped and started giving Knuckles C.P.R.

"Clear!" The voice of the soldier attempting to save Julie-Su said and pushed the paddles against her chest. She jumped as the electricity travelled through her, but, again her heart failed to beat.

"KNUX! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Sonic yelled as he continued to give the Echidna C.P.R.

"Clear!" The soldier said and pushed the paddles against Julie-Su's chest once more. She jumped again as the electricity travelled through her body, but, like before, her hear didn't beat.

"KNUCKLES! STOP BEING SUCH A SELFISH BASTARD AND GET UP!" Sonic snapped.

"Sonic! SONIC! STOP!" Manic yelled and pulled Sonic off the Echidna.

"No! I can save him!" Sonic stated and tried breaking away from Manic.

"Sonic, he's gone." Manic sighed. Sonic stopped struggling, stopped moving.

"He's not gone." Sonic whispered, his voice shaking as the tears formed in his eyes.

"Clear!" The soldier called. The paddles hit Julie-Su's chest again, the electricity made her body jump, but like all the other attempts, her heart failed to beat.

"She's gone." The soldier sighed. Sonic looked up to see the one line travelling across the screen. Suddenly, a small beep filled the air. Sonic noticed there was a small hill like shape on the monitor.

"She's alive! Quick! Get the oxygen!" The soldier ordered. Suddenly, Knuckles gasped for breath.

"Knuckles! Someone help! Stay with us buddy!" Sonic ordered.

"Please don't tell me...you gave me mouth to mouth." Knuckles groaned.

"You wish mate." Sonic chuckled.

"That couldn't have been a coincidence." Manic mumbled, looking over at Julie-Su.

Meanwhile, Yuri tied the President to a chair, then pulled out a gun and aimed it for the President.


	7. Chapter 7

"Now, Mr. President, you are going to give me the codes for all the missiles America owns or your daughter will pay the price." Yuri stated, keeping the gun level with the President's head.

"You don't have my daughter, I made sure she got away." The President scoffed.

"Well, we don't have her now, but, trust me when I say she'll be here soon." Yuri smirked.

"Alright, we've got to get him stitched up! He's lost enough blood as it is." One of the soldiers stated as they carried Knuckles into the camp. Sonic, Manic, Shadow and Silver watched as the Echidna was carried into the medical tent, all with nervous expressions on their faces. Even though Knuckles had been conscious when they carried him back, his heart beat was weak, slow and he found it a struggle to keep his eyes open. Sonic spotted Price watching as Knuckles got taken into the medical tent, his expression one of pure concern.

"Sonic, what do you think he's going to do when he finds out we've got an enemy in the camp? He'll go nuts! You shouldn't of saved her Manic, you've just made things worse!" Shadow sighed.

"Hey! If it wasn't for her, Knuckles and I would have been shot a lot earlier! If it wasn't for her, more of us would have died when Dimitri attacked! She had the courage to come here and warn us before the attack actually started! She almost for that with her life!" Sonic snapped.

"And she saved my life as well! One of her own was going to shoot me, yet she pulled them off and ended up taking the bullet for me! She's got more courage than you, Shadow!" Manic added.

"I still say she shouldn't be here." Shadow stated and walked off.

"So you'd rather your friends to die than be saved by an enemy?" Sonic scoffed. Shadow didn't answer and continued walking until he reached his tent, and went inside it.

"Come on, let's go see how Knux is doing." Manic smiled and guided Sonic through the many soldiers until the reached the medical tent. When they got inside, they saw Blaze stitching up the wounds in Knuckles' shoulder. The one in his stomach had also been stitched up.

"How you feeling buddy?" Sonic asked as he reached Knuckles' side. The Echidna was in a seated position and showed no real sign of being in pain other than when the needle entered his skin.

"Like you were lying about me about the mouth to mouth thing. I swear I can taste chilli dogs." Knuckles stated, wiping his mouth after he spoke. Sonic couldn't help but smile.

"Like I said, you wish mate." Sonic smiled. Knuckles scoffed with a smile.

"There you go, all done." Blaze said as she finished the final stitch.

"Thanks Blaze." Knuckles smiled. She smiled back and walked off to someone else.

"Knuckles, what are we going to tell Price about Julie-Su?" Sonic asked.

"Is she alright?" Knuckles asked, his eyes showing his concern.

"She's fine. They're stitching her up right now." Manic stated.

"Anyway, what are we going to tell Price, he won't be happy." Sonic added.

"What won't I be happy about?" A voice asked. Manic and Sonic slowly turned their heads in unison to see Price standing behind them, his arms folded, his eyes fixed on them.

"Uh...you see...Knux and I...we...I...there was a..." Sonic stuttered.

"We bought an injured girl back here who used to be an enemy. She's proven she isn't one of them any more. If you don't like it, then tough." Knuckles stated. Price turned his gaze from Sonic and Manic to Knuckles, who returned the same confident and determined gaze Price was giving him.

"Fine." Price said in a cold, flat tone and left the tent without another word.

"What in the name of Mobius just happened?" Sonic gasped.

"I don't know." Manic stated. They both turned to Knuckles who was staring at the exit Price had walked through with the same confused and shocked expression on his face as Sonic and Manic.

"I take it he don't know either." Sonic sighed.

"Gentlemen, if you've quite finished your debate, you're being sent on a mission in three hours. An enemy sub needs taking down. If you say she's not an enemy, she can help." Price's voice called.

"He's got bat hearing." Manic gasped.

"So where are you guys taking me now?" A voice asked. The three boys turned to see Julie-Su standing beside them, her wounds stitched up, her hands on her hips.

Manic kicked down the fencing that was a barrier between them and the flooded underground road. Manic put on his oxygen mask and jumped into the water. Knuckles turned to see Sonic's expression become one of high concern. He knew the hedgehog was afraid of water.

"Would you hurry up and jump in there?!" Shadow snapped and pushed the hedgehog into the water just after Sonic had hesitantly placed on his oxygen mask. The water splashed on everyone except Julie-Su, who had been standing at a certain distance would wouldn't result in her getting wet. Soon, everyone had jumped into the water and were now swimming through the underground road. Cars and bodies could be seen floating or resting at the bottom of the tunnel. Soon, after a few disturbing sights of people being trapped underneath cars, they had swam out of the underground tunnel and were now in the sea on the east coast of the city. Manic raised his hand, a signal for them to stop. Knuckles stopped swimming and looked up. He could see the submarine passing gracefully above them. When it had completely passed, Shadow, Silver and Julie-Su swam after it. They were going to place the bombs on it while Sonic, Manic and Knuckles went inside the submarine so they could take control of it's missile launchers and use it to hit the enemy's own forces. Knuckles noticed Julie-Su place one of the explosives underneath the sub, then quickly swim away. She, Shadow and Silver were just out of the way when the explosives went off. Knuckles, Manic and Sonic quickly swam towards it as it surfaced then jumped onto it before it would have been too high to climb.

"Here we go." Sonic sighed as Manic opened the hatch. Knuckles was the first to go down the ladder. Sonic followed shortly afterwards while Manic waited for Silver, Shadow and Julie-Su. When Sonic had both feet on the floor of the sub, he raised his gun and scanned the area.

"Clear." Sonic called up to Manic, who then signalled Shadow to go down the ladder. Knuckles slowly walked forwards, his gun at head height. He quickly checked both directions before leaving the corridor they had entered and then turned right, heading to where Julie-Su had told them would be the missile controls. Red lights were flashing, a sign Sonic knew meant the enemy knew they'd been breeched. Knuckles stopped walking and held his hand up, letting them know someone was coming. Everyone quickly hid in any place possible, behind doors or crouching behind boxes.

"Keep an eye out Lightning, the enemy could be anywhere." The voice of Drago warned.

"What's the betting the traitor is with them." The voice of Lightning Lynx replied. Shadow turned to look at Julie-Su, who had pure hurt and pain in her eyes. A small amount of sympathy fell over him.

"Wait, what's that?" The voice of Drago asked. Shadow peaked out from over the box he was hiding behind to see Lightning Lynx heading towards the place Knuckles was hiding.

Meanwhile, Mina Mongoose watched as the sand zoomed past her window. The car bumped about slightly as it went over some rough terrain, but, that wasn't what was bother her. It was the Echidna she had left bleeding. She wasn't sure if he was dead or alive, and if he was dead then it would have been her fault. Guilt filled her whole being, but it was soon replaced with fear when the sound of gun shots echoed in the air, shortly followed by the sound of smashing glass. Mina quickly covered her head with her hands and ducked down so she was occupying both seats in the back of the car. The sound of a yelp of pain filled her ears. She looked up to see the soldier in the passenger seat had been shot in the chest, his eyes now closed. Short afterwards, the sound of a tire bursting could be heard, the car skidded and then tipped over and rolled around. Mina screamed, clutching her seatbelt as tightly as she could, gripping on for dear life. When the car finally stopped moving, she opened her eyes to find the car was laying on it's side. Both the soldiers who had been in the car were dead. Mina whimpered in fright when the door above her opened.

"Hello Miss Mongoose, you're coming with me." A evil looking figure snarled.

Back in the submarine, Julie-Su was keeping Drago and Lightning Lynx from discovering Knuckles and the others. When they were close to spotting Knuckles, she'd jumped out from her hiding place and shot at them, deliberately missing by a few centimetres. After that, they'd started shooting. She, not exactly wanting to be shot, had run off and was now running through the corridors of the submarine trying to get away from them. She slipped and fell to the floor. She groaned in pain and placed her hand on her head, she was bleeding. Just then, everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Soon, Knuckles and the others emerged from their hiding places and looked at each other with confusion. They didn't know exactly what had happened, all they'd seen were the two enemy soldiers shooting at something and then running off. Knuckles scanned the group, making sure everyone who was was meant to be there was there. Sonic, Manic, Silver, Shadow...Julie-Su! She was gone! That's why the two enemy soldiers had started shooting and run off! She must have jumped out when they were getting close to him, saving his life once again.

"Shadow, Silver, Manic, you go to the control deck, Sonic, you're with me." Knuckles ordered. Everyone did as they were told and split up. Soon, Knuckles spotted a small puddle of blood on the floor, as well as some drag marks too. He quietly followed the drag marks and the small splats of blood until he found a door in which the drag marks went through.

"Knuckles, there's two of us and probably loads of them, how are we go..." Sonic started, but stopped instantly when he heard the sound of electricity cracking, like it was hitting something. A grunt of pain came from inside the room, shortly followed by another crack of electricity.

"Come on." Knuckles ordered. Sonic nodded and kicked the door open, his gun raised and ready to shoot. He could see Julie-Su in the middle of the room, red burn marks where she'd been hit with an electric rod. A soldier ran towards Sonic, but, he shot them in the head before they could even think to attack. All the others frozen, none of them quite believing what they were seeing.

"Julie-Su? You alright?" Knuckles asked. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Come on, Shadow, Manic and Silver will have set the codes by now. We've got to get out of here." Sonic ordered. Julie-Su quickly got up while Knuckles and Sonic kept their guns on the enemy soldiers. Soon, the three of them were out of the room and were running back to the hatch from which they'd entered. Sirens started blaring, the missiles were heading their way.

Yuri smiled when he watched the President's daughter being forced into the room, he smiled as he saw the President's expression turn from confident to completely helpless.

"Mina!" President Mongoose gasped and tried getting out of his restraints, but, his attempts failed.

"Now, are you going to give me the codes or am I going to have to kill her?" Yuri snarled.

"Sir! Sorry to interrupt, but, you might want to take a look at this." A soldier stated and brought Yuri's attention to the television screen. On it, was footage of several submarines exploding and two boats trying to make their way through the explosions without being hit. On one boat, he could see the Guardian. A scowl crept across Yuri's face when he remembered the Echidna who shot him.

"Go and kill them, but bring that one to me alive." Yuri ordered, pointing to Knuckles. The soldier nodded and turned around, headed towards the door, but stopped when Yuri called to him.

"On second thoughts, bring me the female as well. I think our little Guardian has some feelings for her." Yuri chuckled, noticing Knuckles cleaning what looked like wounds on her stomach.

Meanwhile...

"SONIC! WOULD YOU KEEP THIS FUCKING BOAT STEADY?!" Knuckles snapped.

"I'm sorry your fucking highness! Would you like me to turn the water to silk and the explosions to fucking cool breezes?!" Sonic snapped back. Knuckles rolled his eyes and continued applying the sanitiser to Julie-Su's burns. Even though they were just burns, the skin needed cleaning otherwise it could get infected. She winced as she felt the sting penetrate her stomach and clenched her teeth.

"Sorry." Knuckles apologised and applied the last application of sanitiser. She whimpered again as the sting made it's way around her body. Suddenly, a bullet hit the boat in the side.

"Shit! Knux, we're hit!" Sonic yelled. Knuckles pulled out his gun and looked around, he could see a helicopter behind them, and it was approaching them fast. He started firing at it, but, his shots missed. Suddenly, the helicopter exploded. Knuckles turned to see Julie-Su holding a small pistol.

"How on Mobius did you do that?!" Knuckles gasped.

"Don't aim for the pilot, aim for the fuel tank." Julie-Su smiled.

"Knux! I can see the chopper!" Sonic stated. Just ahead of them, Silver, Manic and Shadow had driven their boat into a large helicopter and were waiting for them to get in. Sonic just managed to drive the boat into the chopper before it ran out of petrol. He sighed, thankful the boat hadn't sunk. The last thing he wanted was to get wet, or drown. Soon, the chopper was in the air and heading back to base, much to Sonic's relief. The further away he was from the water the better. When the chopper landed, Sonic was the first out and couldn't be more pleased to have his feet back on solid ground. He saw Sally and made his way over to her, while Manic, Silver and Shadow went to the large tent where soldiers would go to play various card games. Knuckles gently helped Julie-Su off the chopper, being mindful of her burns and led her to the medical tent. Blaze smiled when she saw them both and tended to Julie-Su's burns, though she didn't really have to do much. Knuckles had already done an excellent job in cleaning the wounds. Once Blaze had covered up the burns with bandages to prevent infection, Julie-Su left the tent and sat at the border of the camp. She pulled her knees to her chest and stared into the distance, wondering what her former allies were doing.

Scourge sighed as he sat on the boarders of his camp. His mind was filled with questions, but, the one that occurred the most was why would his best friend betray them? She was so close to becoming commander of their unit, she could have had everything, yet, she went and betrayed them and everything they had fought so hard for. What had gotten into her? He couldn't think of any reason why anyone would want to betray Dimitri. He was feared by all, and everyone knew if you betrayed him you'd live to regret it. What could have willed her to take the step others hadn't?

"Scourge? Are you alright?" A voice asked. Scourge looked behind him to see Drago Wolf, the only other person he could really call a friend besides Julie-Su. Scourge sighed sadly.

"Why do you think she did it, Drago? What's so bad about our fight that caused her to back out?" Scourge asked. Drago sat down besides him and looked in the same direction as Scourge.

"She probably betrayed us because she was a coward and didn't have the guts to fight for what we believed in." Drago shrugged. Scourge shot the wolf a shocked gaze. Out of all the people he knew, Julie-Su had the most bravery of them all, so, she was definitely not a coward.

"We both know she's braver than anyone in this whole unit." Scourge stated.

"Then, the only other reason I can think of is love." Drago shrugged. Scourge turned to the wolf again, the same expression of shock sketched across his face, but, also with a hint of confusion.  
"What are you talking about?" Scourge asked Drago, his simply raised his eyebrows.

"You know how all the little fairy tales go. Guy meets girl in a war or something like that, they fall in love, one of them changes sides then they both live happily ever after. More or less." Drago shrugged. Scourge turned away from his friend and back to the place where his eyes had originally been looking. He'd known Julie-Su for the longest, except her brother and sister, and he knew she wasn't one looking for love, unless...unless love was the one that struck her.

Knuckles smiled as he watched Shadow beat Sonic at a game of poker, and how the blue hedgehog slumped sulkily in defeat. A small laugh escaped from his lips, even in times of trouble, even in the middle of a war, people could still gather around and have a good time, even if it was only for a minute or two. He then noticed there was one person missing; Julie-Su. He looked around the whole tent, but, he couldn't see her. So, while no one was watching, he stepped out of the tent and went in search of her. He soon found Julie-Su sitting on the boarder of the camp, looking out into the distance. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her posture suggested she was sad.

"It's a bit cold for star gazing isn't it?" Knuckles asked as he reached her side.

"It's not the stars I'm gazing at." She sighed, not looking at him as he sat down beside her.

"You homesick?" Knuckles asked, knowing this was most likely the case.

"No, just worried about what my family and friends think of me now." Julie-Su shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't matter what they think. The only thing that matters is what you think, it's your life after all, so you can do what you want with it. No one else has the right to control you." Knuckles stated. She turned to look at him, their eyes locked for a second, then they turned away.

"I never thanked you for saving my life, again." She smiled, still looking out into the distance.  
"Hey, we look out for each other over here. You're one of us now." Knuckles smiled back.

"Still, I'm grateful. Thank you." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to turn brighter than his own fur. She chuckled slightly, then turned her attention back to the horizon.


	9. Chapter 9

Sonic ducked an attack from Shadow and kicked at the hedgehog, sending the male flying back.  
"Good Sonic!" Price smiled, making Sonic feel like he'd been given an award. However, his happiness didn't last long. Shadow had got up and managed to wrestle him to the ground.  
"Never turn your back on your enemy." Price sighed, smirking as Shadow was attempting to punch the blue hedgehog, but failing as each of his attacks was professionally blocked. Sonic quickly pushed Shadow off him and got to his feet, then got into his fighting stance.

"Come on then faker, bring it." Shadow smirked. Sonic sped over and attempted to punch Shadow, only to find his attack was blocked. Shadow then grabbed Sonic's wrist and threw him over his shoulder. Sonic ended up flying through the air and then landing on his ribs with a painful thud.

"Don't rush into battle, plan your moves, think carefully." Price added as Sonic got up.

"Watching them fight is hilarious." Silver smirked as Sonic and Shadow continued to lash out at one another, his comment was aimed at Knuckles but the Echidna wasn't listening. His gaze was looking over at a group of medics that had gathered together. For the first time in a long while, there were no casualties or injuries, no patients that needed tending to. Amongst the medics was Julie-Su. She looked rather uncomfortable around the other females as they smiled and gossiped.

"Knuckles? Mobius to Knuckles? Hello?" Silver called. Knuckles turned to look at his friend.  
"Sorry. What were you saying?" Knuckles asked. Silver sighed in a slightly irritated tone.

"Something about you is different." Silver stated, staring at Knuckles.

"I'm exactly the same as I was yesterday Silver." Knuckles shrugged. Silver paused, then looked over at where Knuckles had been looking. His eyes went wide in amusement when he saw what Knuckles had been looking at. He'd suspected this ever since she'd turned up.

"You like her don't you?" Silver smirked. Knuckles turned to the hedgehog with a shocked look.

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles asked, his voice showing his shock.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You save her life more than once, you keep looking at her, you vanish in the middle of the night. You like her." Silver stated.

"You spend too much time with Sonic." Knuckles scoffed.

"You didn't deny it." Silver smiled.

"You definitely spend too much time with Sonic." Knuckles sighed.

Mina Mongoose gasped in pain as she was thrown to the floor. Someone then grabbed a bunch of her hair and yanked it harshly, causing her to yelp in pain. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Your father isn't being very helpful to our operation. I think he needs some encouragement, don't you?" A voice hissed. Mina tried pulling away from the person who had a hold of her hair, but, their grip was too strong. They slapped her across the face, causing her to gasp in shock.

"Let me go!" Mina demanded, only to be harshly pushed backwards into a wall.

"You don't talk to me like that, understand?!" The person who was holding her snapped.

"Get off me!" Mina yelled and tried kicking out at them, but, her kicks had no effect.

"I warned you." The person snarled and punched her in the stomach. She yelped in pain and tried breathing in as much air as she could as the person dropped her to the ground.

"Now, why don't we let Daddy know how much fun you're having." The person hissed. After that, all that could be heard was a loud, painful and piercing scream.

Julie-Su tried smiling without it looking fake as Sally and Blaze continued to gossip. She herself, wasn't one of those kinds of girls. She didn't like gossiping, or talking about clothes or boys. She just preferred sitting alone or going out shooting. Those were the things she liked.

"Hey, uh, I gotta go. I'll be back in a minute." Julie-Su stated and quickly walked away before either Sally or Blaze could protest. She had no intention of going back to them, but, it would be rude if she didn't. Her mind could now relax, she could now spend her time alone. She continued walking until she reached the boarder of the camp. She sighed and sat down on the sand, not caring if she got dirty. She smiled slightly as she remembered how red Knuckles had gone when she kissed him on the cheek. A small chuckle escaped her lips, remembering when she'd helped Scourge pluck up the courage to kiss Fiona. Her smile then turned into a frown. She missed him, she missed her friend. Suddenly something grabbed her leg and pulled it harshly, causing her to fall onto her back. She tried to get up, but something pinned her down as soon as she tried. A hand then covered her mouth.

"Hey! Get off her!" A voice snapped. She looked up to see Sonic speeding over. He knocked the person who had Julie-Su pinned down off her and then helped her to her feet.

"Why did you help me?" She asked as she brushed the sand off herself.  
"Well, you saved my life, my brother's and Knuckles'. I couldn't not help." Sonic shrugged.

"Sorry hedgehog, but, my master requires her presence." The person who attacked her stated.

"You work for Yuri! I've seen you before!" Sonic gasped.

"Ten brownie points." The soldier of Yuri chuckled, then quickly pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger before either Sonic or Julie-Su could react. The bullet landed in Sonic's chest.

"SONIC!" Julie-Su gasped. She caught him before he hit the ground and covered the wound with her hands, trying to stop the blood flow. The soldier then yanked her off and dragged her away.

"NO! GET THE FUCK OFF ME! SONIC!" Julie-Su screamed.

Shadow and Silver both looked up as they heard a female voice scream. Not wasting a second, they both ran off in the direction it had come from. When they arrived, they were shocked at the sight laid out before them. Sonic was laying on the ground, a gun shot wound in his chest.

"Sonic! Shit!" Shadow gasped and ran over to his friend's side, covering the would.

"Shadow...he's got...Julie-Su." Sonic wheezed, his voice showing his struggle to breathe.

"What?" Silver gasped, he then noticed the drag marks in the sand which indicated a struggle.

"Yuri...sent some...one to get her..." Sonic added, still wheezing.

"Save your energy bud, she'll be alright. We need to get you to the medic wing." Shadow stated and gently picked up Sonic, then sped off back to the base. Silver on the other hand, decided to check out where the drag marks would lead. He followed them and soon spotted a helicopter. A man was dragging Julie-Su towards it. She was fighting and lashing out, he was having trouble holding onto her. Silver then noticed that there was blood on Julie-Su's hands.

"GET OFF ME! SONIC!" Julie-Su screamed. Silver realised she must have been there when he was shot, and tried to save him by covering the wound, but, ended up getting dragged away.

"He's going to die, so shut your mouth and get in the helicopter before I shoot your brains onto the floor!" The man snapped and kneed her in the stomach. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees. Silver quickly got up and sped over, but, he didn't reach them in time. The man quickly pushed Julie-Su in the helicopter and it took off into the air. Silver sighed in frustration.

Sally gasped as she saw Shadow carrying Sonic into the base, blood covering his hands.

"Sonic!" Sally called and ran over to him as fast as she could, leaving Blaze too shocked to move. Knuckles spun around to see Shadow carry Sonic into the medical wing and then come out shortly afterwards. Silver appeared in the base a few minutes later, looking tired and annoyed.

"What happened?!" Knuckles asked, confused, shocked and angered about the situation.

"I don't know. We heard a scream, ran over to check it out and all we saw was Sonic laying on the ground bleeding to death." Shadow sighed. Silver then turned to Knuckles.

"There were also some drag marks. Sonic said someone had taken Julie-Su, a soldier who works for Yuri. I tried to help her, but, the chopper took off before I could reach it." Silver sighed.

"WHAT?!" Knuckles gasped.

Julie-Su grunted as she hit the ground. It wasn't long before she was tied to a chair and then beaten by some of the men who worked for Yuri. When they were finished with her, she was black and blue all over, but, she hadn't answered any of the questions they'd asked her. All she'd done was spit in each and ever face of the people who came in to interrogate her. Just then, Yuri entered.

"My my, you look a little rough. I should have told my men to ease up." Yuri cackled.

"What do you want scum bag?" Julie-Su hissed. Yuri grabbed one of her dreadlocks and yanked it harshly, causing her to wince in pain, but she didn't yell or yelp or cry out.

"I want the Guardian, and you are the key to his undoing." Yuri smirked evilly.


	10. Chapter 10

Knuckles, Manic and Silver quietly ran to the door of an old abandoned tower block.

"Shadow, you're our eyes. Let us know if you see anything." Knuckles whispered into the earpiece.

"Got that." Shadow stated. He was laying on his stomach on the top of a tower block opposite the one Knuckles was going into, a sniper in his hands. Knuckles quietly opened the door and went inside. Manic and Silver followed not too long afterwards, checking the dark corners.

"Silver, you're with me. Manic you go up those stairs so Shadow can watch you." Knuckles ordered quietly. Manic nodded and walked up the stairs Knuckles had pointed to while Knuckles and Silver walked down a corridor. None of them knew what they'd be confronted with, or whether they'd like it. Rumours were that Yuri had kidnapped the president and his daughter.

Julie-Su grunted as she tried moving her chair. If she could turn it around, she could push it back against the door and try and force it open. Suddenly, she heard some footsteps coming towards her. The door opened to reveal Yuri. The black panther stared at her with his cold yellow eyes.

"Time to go sweetie. You've done your job." Yuri hissed. Julie-Su sighed sadly, knowing what he meant. Knuckles was there, most likely coming to save her. She looked at the floor, ashamed.

"Hey, don't look like that. At least you'll be the last person he sees before he dies." Yuri smirked.

Manic quietly opened a door and looked in. He saw Mina Mongoose, the president's daughter, tied to a chair. He quickly went in and started untying the ropes that kept her hostage.

"Shadow, I've got the president's daughter. Find me a safe route out of here." Manic ordered into the earpiece, making sure he kept his voice down. There was a short pause.

"When you leave the room, there's an elevator to your left. It'll take you down to the ground floor and the exit to the building is literally right next to it as you get out." Shadow stated.

"Thanks." Manic smiled as he removed the duct tape from Mina's face.

"Thank you." She whispered, knowing she had to keep quiet.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Manic said quietly and led her out of the room.

"What about my father?" Mina asked.

"Don't worry, there's some guys in here that will find him." Manic stated.

Silver opened a door quietly to see the president tied to a chair. He went inside.

"You get him out, I'm going to get Yuri." Knuckles stated.

"Are you crazy?! Yuri will kill you!" Silver hissed.

"Then if he does, tell Sonic to remember his promise." Knuckles sighed and walked away.

Yuri scanned the screens that were in front of him, his eyes searching for the Guardian. He knew that Knuckles was in the building, he knew he'd come to save the young female Echidna. Why he'd do this Yuri didn't know. At one point, the Guardian and the Legionnaire had been enemies, they'd hated each other. They fought against one another. For one to save the other was odd, unusual. Then it hit Yuri, it must have been love. Whatever else could it have been? He turned to look at the now unconscious Julie-Su. She'd struggled so much against the guards they ended up having to knock her out. Her body laid on the floor in a position that was one that was like the way a person sleeps.

"Leave her here. When the Guardian finds her, we'll be waiting." Yuri ordered to the Guards as they left the room, having spotted Knuckles heading towards them on one of the screens.

Manic and Mina left the building and quickly ran across the street to the shelter of the safe house.

"Shadow? Have you got sights on Knuckles and Silver?" Manic asked into the earpiece.

"Silver yes, Knuckles no. Silver's got the president." Shadow replied.

"Where on Mobius is Knuckles?" Manic asked to no one in particular. He sighed, knowing Knuckles had probably gone after Yuri. The history between them was so deep, so horrifying, it made Manic shudder just by thinking about it. He opened the door for Silver and the president as they reached the safe house. Mina hugged her father tightly as soon as he walked in.

Knuckles breathed in deeply before opening the door. He wasn't sure who or what was behind it, but, he had to be prepared for anything. When he opened the door, at first he saw nothing. He scanned the room but there wasn't a guard in sight. However, the second time he checked, he saw Julie-Su laying on the floor, a large cut on her head. He quickly rushed over and checked for a pulse. She had one, a strong one at that. She was only unconscious.

"Shadow. I've found Julie-Su. I need you to send someone up to the top floor and get her." Knuckles stated into the earpiece, but, before Shadow could reply something pulled the earpiece from Knuckles' ear and dropped it on the ground, then stood on it. Knuckles looked up to be met with the face of an angry looking guard, who looked like he was on steroids to be honest.

"Pills are bad for you, you know that right?" Knuckles smirked. The guard swung for him, but narrowly missed. Knuckles quickly pulled out his gun from his pocket and shot the guard in the chest while the guard was trying to regain his balance. The guard then fell to the ground.

"Knuckles?! Knux answer me!" A voice snapped. Knuckles recognised the voice, it was Sonic's.

Sonic slammed the door open and stormed over to the shocked looking Echidna before him.

"I thought you just died! What the HELL were you thinking?! Going off alone!" Sonic snapped. Knuckles shrugged and walked over to Julie-Su. He gently picked her up and then gently passed her to Sonic. He looked at Knuckles with a confused expression.

"She needs to go to the medic wing. No one's faster than you." Knuckles stated.

"You stay put until I get back." Sonic ordered. Knuckles held his hands up in surrender. However, as soon as Sonic was out of the door, Knuckles quickly ran off to the flight of stairs at the end of the room. Soon, he was on the roof and saw Yuri heading towards a helicopter.

"Yuri!" Knuckles snapped. Yuri spun around, a huge smirk on his face.

"Nice to see you again friend." Yuri chuckled.

"I am NOT your friend you piece of shit!" Knuckles snarled.

"I know I betrayed you, but, seriously, it was two years ago. Let it go." Yuri smirked.

"Go to hell." Knuckles spat and took a shot at Yuri. The panther simply dodged and pulled out his gun. He fired two shots at Knuckles, but, the Echidna managed to dodge both.

"Knuckles!" A voice yelled. Knuckles spun around to see Sonic. Yuri must have also seen the hedgehog as two shots were fired at Sonic, who just managed to speed out of the way.

"Knuckles! I told you to stay put!" Sonic snapped.

"Do I look like a dog to you?!" Knuckles yelled and quickly popped out of his hiding place, fired a shot at Yuri and hid behind the object between them again. He heard a grunt of pain, but, he knew it didn't belong to Yuri. It most likely belonged to one of the guards in the helicopter.

"You could have at least told me you were going after the freak!" Sonic called.

"What I do is none of your business!" Knuckles stated and popped out again. This time, he was met with a bullet hitting him in the shoulder. He fell backwards onto his back and clutched his shoulder in pain. Sonic's eyes went wide when he saw his friend receive a bullet.

"Knuckles!" Sonic gasped and rushed over to his friend.

"Friendship. It's a powerful thing. Almost as powerful as love, isn't it Guardian?" Yuri chuckled as he walked over to them, Sonic pulled out his gun and aimed it for the panther.

"Take one more step and I'll blow your brains out of your skull." Sonic snapped.

"It would help if your gun had any bullets in it." Yuri chuckled. Sonic looked down at his gun and became more nervous when he realised he was out of ammo.

"You two ready to join the rest of your scum in hell?" Yuri smirked. He raised his gun and aimed it for Sonic. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a chain wrapped itself around Yuri's neck. He yelped in shock and tried grabbing whoever it was behind him. He stumbled backwards towards the part of the roof that was glass. Yuri fell backwards, onto whoever it was that was choking him and onto the glass. The sound of cracking echoed in the air. Sonic saw something hook the chain onto a part of the roof just as the glass collapsed. He then saw Julie-Su and Yuri fall through the roof. A choking gag then filled the air. Sonic quickly got up and saw Yuri dangling from the chain and Julie-Su lying on the floor beneath him. Neither of them were moving.


	11. Chapter 11

While he ran down the stairs, Sonic ordered Shadow to send someone up to the roof to get Knuckles. Soon, he was on the ground floor and saw Julie-Su laying on the floor, her leg was at a strange angle, her eyes were shut and she wasn't breathing. He quickly rushed over to her.

"Come on, Julie-Su, you're stronger than this." Sonic stated as he gently picked her up and rested her on his lap. Her expression was one of peace, like she was sleeping.

"Sonic? We've got Knuckles but he don't look good..." A voice started, but, then stopped.

"How in the name of Chaos are you walking?!" A second voice gasped. Sonic turned his head slightly to see Silver and Manic staring at something, or rather someone. It was Knuckles.

"Is she alright?" Knuckles asked Sonic, who shook his head.

"She's gone, Knux." Sonic sighed. Knuckles walked over to Sonic and knelt down beside him. He then turned his attention to Julie-Su, the female who had saved their lives.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Knuckles mumbled, but Sonic managed to hear it. Knuckles then placed his hand on Julie-Su's chest. As soon as his skin made contact with hers, a dim green light began to glow. Sonic looked up at Knuckles with shock, only to find the Echidna had his eyes closed. Manic and Silver looked down at the events happening before them with confusion. Just as they were about to ask what was going on, the light faded and Julie-Su started breathing.

"Knuckles, how did you do that?" Sonic asked. There was a long pause.

"It's an Echidna thing." Knuckles stated, got up and walked off without another word.

When Sonic and the others arrived back in camp, they saw the soldiers and medics celebrating. With Yuri gone, the war wouldn't last much longer. Sonic carried Julie-Su into the medical wing so she could have her broken leg seen to, then he went in search of Knuckles. However, it proved hard to find the red furred Echidna. He did find Remington, so he figured that was just as good.

"Constable Remington, may I ask you something?" Sonic asked the brown Echidna.

"Of course Sonic, fire away." Remington smiled.

"Julie-Su died back there, then Knuckles done something. He put his hand on her chest and his hand turned green. After the light faded, she started breathing again." Sonic explained.

"Ooh, sounds like someone's been struck by the soultouch." Remington smiled.

"Soultouch? What's that?" Sonic asked.

"It's an Echidna thing. Basically, we got so caught up in technology we started to die out. No time for the birds and the bees if you see what I mean. Anyway, the soultouch is natures way of showing us who our soul mate is. What Knuckles did is something that can only done to those who have been effected by the soul touch. He gave her part of his life and it bought her back." Remington explained. Sonic just stood there, eyes wide in shock. Knuckles was in love.

Knuckles sat on the edge of the camp, looking out to the distance. He knew the war would be over soon and he could go back home, but, he wasn't looking forward to it. He would go back home, see his family, and yes he was looking forward to that, but he wouldn't see some of the people he'd served with ever again. Some of those people had become his good friends, some even more.

"Homesick?" A voice asked. He turned around to see Julie-Su standing behind him, a pair of crutches were holding her up. He then noticed the cast around her right leg.

"Not exactly." Knuckles sighed. She lowered herself down beside him and sat down.  
"Let me guess, you're going to miss some of your friends when you go back home." Julie-Su said.

"Are you telepathic or something?" Knuckles smiled.

"No, I can just tell. Thank you for saving my life, by the way." Julie-Su thanked.

"Hey, it wasn't just me. If Sonic hadn't of gotten to you when he did then..." Knuckles started.  
"I know what you did Knuckles, I know it was you who saved me." Julie-Su interrupted. Knuckles could feel the colour come rushing to his cheeks. If she knew what he did, that meant she knew about the bond that they shared, one he realised they shared when Yuri's men had taken her.

"So, what do you suggest we do now?" Knuckles asked, not looking at her.

"How about this?" Julie-Su asked and kissed him on the lips.

Sonic had gathered Silver, Shadow and Manic to help him find Knuckles. He'd figured if Knuckles had given Julie-Su part of his life then he might be weak or something and need help. However, when the four hedgehogs found the Echidna in question, their concerns vanished. They had found him sitting on the edge of the base, but, he wasn't alone. Julie-Su was there and they were kissing.

"Okay, I need to find out where he learns how to pull women." Shadow mumbled, receiving a jab in the side by Sonic. Shadow shot Sonic an evil glare, but, soon turned his gaze away from Sonic.

"So, let me get this straight, they're basically in a relationship because of this soultouch thing?" Silver asked. Sonic nodded and began pulling his friends backwards, knowing they were being rude by invading Knuckles' privacy. Shadow and Manic weren't keen on leaving, but, Sonic and Silver eventually manage to pull them away, just as Knuckles and Julie-Su broke apart.

Four months later...

The war was over, the good were victorious. All were sent back to their families and greeted with hugs and words of affection, well all except one. Julie-Su was a traitor to her family and had been banished, while those who she had helped thought of her as family. The people she'd served with, the soldiers she'd fought beside, all of them treated her as one of them. However, she wasn't with them, she was with her soul mate. It had been a little shocking when she found out, but, she wasn't disappointed by it. She was glad the soultouch had brought her Knuckles.

"When I tell her, you'd better brace yourself." Knuckles stated as they approached a house.

"Why? When she finds out who I am will she kill me?" Julie-Su asked.

"No, she's basically been waiting for this since I was thirteen." Knuckles chuckled and knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps approaching could be heard, then the door opened.

"Knuckles! Oh my Chaos! You're home!" Lara-Le gasped and hugged her tightly.  
"Hi mum. Uh, mum, I'd like my ribs to remain unbroken." Knuckles groaned.

"Oh, sorry! I'm just so happy to see you! Who is this?" Lara-Le asked, her eyes locked on Julie-Su, which made the female in question feel uncomfortable, so she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Mum, this is Julie-Su. Julie, this is my mother, Lara-Le" Knuckles introduced.

"Nice to meet you dear." Lara-Le smiled and offered her hand to Julie-Su, who took it and shook it.

"Nice to meet you too." Julie-Su said, her eyes still not looking directly at Lara-Le.

"So, how did you two meet?" Lara-Le asked when she stopped shaking Julie-Su's hand.

"Can we go inside and sit down? It'll take a while to explain." Knuckles smiled.

Twenty minutes later, Knuckles had explained the whole story, how he'd first met Julie-Su and saved her life, how he got punished for it, how she'd crept into his camp and thanked him then left. He explained that she'd betrayed her own forces to save him and his fellow soldiers by creeping into his camp and warning him of an attack, then how she'd gotten punished for it. He explained how he and Sonic found her, then she joined their side. When he got to the end of the explanation, he told his mother how Julie-Su had saved his life and Sonic's life, then he saved hers using the soultouch.

"And that's it." Knuckles finished. For the whole time he'd been explaining, his hand had been it Julie-Su's, neither of them had felt uncomfortable, neither of them had loosened their grip.

"Well, it's about time you found someone Knuckles!" Lara-Le smiled. Knuckles rolled his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, preparing himself to ignore the story his mother would now tell Julie-Su.

"I never thought you'd find anyone, since you spend your time with those Chaotix boys. You never used to spend any time with anyone of the opposite gender." Lara-Le added.

"Who are the Chaotix boys?" Julie-Su asked.

"You'll meet them soon." Knuckles sighed, just before there was a knock on the door.

"IF HE'S BACK AND IS HIDING FROM US, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" A voice yelled.

"Correction, you'll meet them very soon." Knuckles groaned. Lara-Le opened the door and the sound of several footsteps could be heard. Soon, Vector, Mighty and Espio were in sight.

"KNUCKLES! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Vector exclaimed, and went to hug his friend but stopped when he saw Knuckles was hand in hand with another Echidna, a pink one.

"Who is this?" Vector asked. Knuckles turned to Julie-Su. She smiled and introduced herself.


End file.
